Hinchey’s Wife Sentenced to Jail

The wife of Rep. Maurice Hinchey will spend 60 days in jail and serve three years’ probation after she agreed to a plea deal in Albany City Court on Friday.

Allison Lee also paid a $500 fine with a $395 surcharge, had her license revoked and will have to install an ignition-interlock system on any vehicles she owns.

“I regret my actions,” Lee said in a barely audible statement in court. She spoke of her desire to “be a better citizen.”

Lee pleaded guilty to the driving-while-intoxicated charge earlier this year. Albany police arrested her in January after she rear-ended another car while driving her BMW sport-utility vehicle. She was intoxicated and texting behind the wheel.

It was her second conviction in less than a year. In 2011, she was convicted of driving-while-ability-impaired in her hometown of Hurley, Ulster County.

The day after Lee’s January arrest, Hinchey announced he would retire from Congress at the end of the year, though his announcement had been previously scheduled.